I am still getting back into the swing of things post-holidays. I don’t remember much from the time after I passed out into a sugar-induced coma. However, as the pictures below show, I was present for the lighting on my mother’s 60th birthday cake on Sunday.

Here we are lighting the cake.

And here we are still lighting the cake.

And here we are again, still lighting the cake, watching the frosting start to melt.

And finally, the cake is lit! My mother blew out the candles in one breath, proving that old age has not affected her lung capacity. Happy birthday, Mom! Here’s to 60 more years!

• Continue reading "Let them eat cake"

Yesterday was my 29th birthday (thanks in advance for the well wishes), which means a year from yesterday will be…the one year anniversary of my 29th birthday! Actually, this is more commonly referred to as your 30th birthday and while I know this is considered a BIG DEAL, I am not all that concerned about it at this moment.

I figure people freak out over their 30th birthday for two reasons: 1) They look at their lives and are unhappy with what they’ve accomplished or failed to accomplish. 2) They fear old age, illness and their ultimate mortality. As for number 1, I am pretty happy with what I’ve accomplished at this point in my life, so no worries there. As for number 2 – HA! Illness? Old age? We are old friends. We have drinks every Friday night together.

I am always befuddled when a 28-year-old friend of mine tells me, “I found a white hair today!” as if this is shocking information. I found my first white hair when I was 21, and my older [...]

• Continue reading "Less than a year away"

Yesterday at work we made hamburgers with Krispy Kreme donuts as the buns. I don’t know why. These things just happen. One minute you’re talking about chocolate-covered bacon and the next you’re daring your boss to cut off two years of his life in two Krispy, greasy bites.

A lot of supplies are required to make donut burgers: a griddle, glazed donuts, ground beef, bacon, cheese, eggs and of course lettuce and tomatoes. Don’t forget your veggies! If you ever make these at your own workplace, a fried egg works well to cover up the donut hole. Don’t forget to toast your donut on the griddle for extra crispiness! But have thick plates and lots of paper towels because these are prone to drip.

I myself did not have a donut burger because the day before that we had frosted carrots for my birthday.

See? There are twenty-eight carrot flakes on top of a carrot cake, and they even spelled my name right. My coworkers are awesome. I’m going to miss them when they all have coronaries.

• Continue reading "The day of the donut burger"

I have a lot of photos of myself sitting in front of cake. I noticed this when I dug out my mother’s photos albums and boxes of unsorted prints looking for a good “before” photo earlier this year. “No wonder I was so fat. I was always eating cake!” I thought. Then I realized that, no, I wasn’t always eating cake. We just always took pictures of me on my birthday, at which we always ate cake.

These pictures do provide a good timeline of how I’ve aged over the years, and what my taste in pastries was at the time. So today, I give you a history of cake.

Age: 10

Wearing a corduroy jumper made by mother. I was currently obsessed with headbands. Looks like we got out the fancy metal plates for the occasion! I love how my hands are encircling the cake, as if to say, “Mine, all mine!”

Age: 14

Wearing my marching band T-shirt and about to devour a Tazmanian Devil cake.

Age: 15

Wearing one of those long t-shirts we used to tie in a [...]

• Continue reading "A history of cake"

It’s that time of the month again. No, not that time of the month. It’s the time when I review how this whole exercising and eating healthy thing has been going for the last 31 days.

Weight

I thought my scale might be stuck this month because I kept weighing in at exactly 176.6 for seven days. Usually the scale messes with me by modulating up and down erratically. Obviously it knows I’m on to it and has decided to mess with me by being eerily consistent. I was at around 177 this morning, which is down about three pounds since last month. Geez, this calorie counting thing seems to be working. Who’d have thought? Besides anyone who’s ever dieted. Ever. Except for me.

Exercise

I took it easy on my Achilles tendon for three weeks after I injured it by running five miles on Sundays like a crazy person. I used the elliptical machine in my apartment’s hot, sweaty, fitness room instead and felt really weird spending 22 minutes operating a machine that essentially does nothing. They should [...]

• Continue reading "Weighing in on October"